Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina
President, African Development Bank Group
Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina was elected President of the African Development Bank Group in 2015, previously serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Dr. Adesina has a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Ife, Nigeria, and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University in the United States. He also won the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship in 1988. Lauded for his leadership and passion for the continent’s transformation, Dr. Adesina is often described as “Africa’s Optimist-in-Chief”.